Co-op Group ending Member Rewards

Stuart_W

Newcad said:

I wonder if a future step will be an offer (or a resolution by 'the board') to buy your coop share(s) off you; so you are no longer members?
I for one will want quite a bit more than £1 if that should ever happen.

I am pretty sure that since the failed bid for CWS (as it was then) in 1997 by Andrew Regan, there is something in the rulebook preventing this. 

k500zm

That is it - It is the end of my relationship with the whole co-op Group -

First they take away my student 10% Discount on purchases

Then they take away my cashback rewards for purchases being a member

I am closing my bank accounts with the Co op and spending the £10 I have left on my supermarket members card

Then I will walk past the Co op round the corner and walk a further 200 yards to the Morrisons and spend my money there.

The insult of the gas lighting of the email thay sent is just deceitful, dishonest and dispicable.

Also their Prices are SO expensive it is rediculous, so much so that they refuse to be listed on supermarket comparison site Trolley

as they would be shown up too badly.

Also the quality of their food has gone right downhill. Their Lasange used to be the best but now it is mediocre.

and their fresh orange juice tastes like they have put whole oranges in a blender! £2.00 per carton whereas £1.60 at waitrose and it tastes like freshly squeezed oranges.

I think they will be closing stores right left and centre in the near future...

Katiehound

k500zm said:

 

I am closing my bank accounts with the Co op and spending the £10 I have left on my supermarket members card

 

Hope that you decide to switch your bank account- that way you could 'earn' a few pounds for the inconvenience rather than just close it.

I went into the small Coop branch for a few bananas ten days ago. I couldn't believe the price- 27 pence per banana, needless to say they stayed on the shelf!!. Next day I checked the price in Aldi: 16 pence per banana.

Stuart_W

My local co-op (central) continues to offer TOTEM discount, pays a dividend in addition to member prices, and as you've mentioned them bananas are 85p for a bag of 6 small ones. They also have a fab scan and go app which offers extra discounts on top. Just shows that not all co-ops are the same. As well as different societies, different sized co-op shops have different prices. Co-op Group have mostly retreated to convenience only.

The phrasing of Co-op Group's message to members is a bit insulting. It's a marketing decision, nothing else. Don't dress it up as putting members first.

Co-op Bank isn't owned by Co-op Group anymore, and hopefully might soon be part of Coventry Building Society, so back to mutual ownership.

Some co-op Group food stores are actually now privately owned franchises - so not co-operatively owned at all. Rather misleading IMHO. 

MSE_Petar

Hi everyone,

We've just published a quick story to remind Co-op members to use their remaining rewards before they expire on Tuesday 31 December.

Thanks,

MSE Petar

coopcreditcarduser

I’m a bit late to this forum, I collect points through my Co-op Membership Credit card spending, ( NOT shopping at the co- op shops) I then take my vouchers to the shop and exchange them for cash . I can’t see anyone saying this will change? 

I out absolutely everything through my credit card and collect the cash after Christmas to help get through January. I’ve never understood why they can’t just credit this amount back I onto my credit card once a year? 

Is the ‘cash exchange’ also stopping for me? 

sarah1972

coopcreditcarduser said:

I’m a bit late to this forum, I collect points through my Co-op Membership Credit card spending, ( NOT shopping at the co- op shops) I then take my vouchers to the shop and exchange them for cash . I can’t see anyone saying this will change? 

I out absolutely everything through my credit card and collect the cash after Christmas to help get through January. I’ve never understood why they can’t just credit this amount back I onto my credit card once a year? 

Is the ‘cash exchange’ also stopping for me? 

According to this you don’t get vouchers? They pay you cash back https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/products/credit-cards/co-operative-members/

How will I get my cashback?

The Co-operative Group will send your cashback either through:

• A bank transfer to your chosen bank account
• In the form of Co-operative Group vouchers – to spend on food, legal advice or funeral care.

You can find out which method your cashback is currently due to be paid in, or change this method, by calling them on 0800 023 4708 (free to call

Stuart_W

Hello @coopcreditcarduser - pleased to hear there is someone else on here that uses the Co-op Members' Credit Card!!

I have one and you will continue to receive vouchers at the moment,this is unrelated to the Member Cashback scheme in store that has closed.

The Co-op Members' Credit Card goes back to when Co-op Group used to pay a dividend twice a year. The credit card payouts were timed to coincide with that. I often received dividend well over £100 each payout time with rewards from the bank, my mortgage, shopping, and the credit card cashback.

Co-op group stopped paying dividend in 2013, and replaced it with a cashback rewards scheme, initially as high as 5p in the £ on own brand products. 

However, the credit card continued in the same way, with 1Jan to 30Jun accrued credit card cashback totted up and added to the November divi payout, and 1Jul to 31Dec accrued credit card cashback added to the following May payout 

As no divi payout is made, the payout now contains just the credit card cashback. It could also technically include dividend from shopping in other societies as midcounties, central and Chelmsford star are still part of what remains of the reciprocal dividend scheme (Southern left it and the others were never part of it) but that's another story and even more confusing.

So as it currently stands, Co-operative Members Credit Card holders get a letter informing them of their credit card cashback twice a year, and it is either a bank transfer or issued vouchers attached to the letter. This will depend whether you ever set up dividend by bank transfer with the Co-op Group when it was an option. I think if you are on vouchers (the default setting) I am not sure if it is now possible to switch to bank transfer. The original terms of the dividend scheme was Co-op group would allow you to cash these vouchers at the till. You didn't have to spend them on goods. This cash exchange option is not affected by the closure of Co-op Group closing the member cashback, which is unrelated to the credit card cashback.

As the credit card cashback is part of the credit card terms and conditions it will not change without notice. I think it is 2 months notice for any change with detremental impact, so nothing happening imminently. Now that Co-op Bank is owned by Coventry Building Society there may be changes ahead in due course, but there will be plenty of notice given. Until then, expect to continue to receive vouchers every 6 months as your credit card cashback. The bank hasn't been owned by Co-op Group for many years so it makes sense to update the scheme in some way. As it stands, the payout is very slow. They could just credit the credit card account, like their smile cashback credit card does (not available to new customers) or come up with another scheme, or just end it. Coventry are very sensitivity beginning the journey of integration of the bank and they won't want to upset loyal co-op customers so expect something in some form to continue. It's lasted this long, I don't expect it to be completely shelved anytime soon, but maybe revamped in some way, but Coventry have a long list of things to do and have only just started, and want to get it right in merging two heritage brands with loyalty on both sides rather than rush to combine them. 

Chrysalis

I remember becoming a member, within 2 months both my local CO-OPs were closed along side with a bunch of others in the city, so then it became dormant.

Then I seen on Deliveroo you could use it for discounts, however it then said my member ID was invalid, even though I was still getting emails from them as an active member.  So in the end a bit of a disappointment.

mutual_owners1844

Chrysalis said:

I remember becoming a member, within 2 months both my local CO-OPs were closed along side with a bunch of others in the city, so then it became dormant.

Then I seen on Deliveroo you could use it for discounts, however it then said my member ID was invalid, even though I was still getting emails from them as an active member.  So in the end a bit of a disappointment.

Which Co-op was this I know this can get rather confusing are you sure you weren’t a member of different society. What colour was the two original stores that closed did they use the blue ‘co-op’ logo?